Konnichiwa Nintendo at Hyper Japan

Once a year, a phenomenon like no other descends on the Olympia at Kensington as Hyper Japan festival takes over the exhibition space for three days of cosplay, sushi and gaming. PrettyGreen went along with Nintendo for a weekend of YO-KAI WATCH, Pokémon and more JRPGs than you can shake a joystick at.

The amazing Nintendo area sat alongside samurai sword stalls and Harajuku beauty parlours swarming with Japanese culture fanatics. On stage gaming demos took place throughout the weekend with special guests like YouTuber Arekkz Gaming showcasing his Monster Hunter: Generations skills and comedian Imran Yusuf taking on the best user submitted Super Mario Maker levels.

YO-KAI WATCH was the star of the show with an immersive experience that brought the town of Springdale to West London. Yo-kai fan art was displayed in a special area and there was also a green screen for fans to recreate the famous YO-KAI WATCH dance (not familiar? Check out Nintendo of Europe president Shibata san showing off his moves here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI30r7RxQi0)

The 20th anniversary of Pokémon was celebrated with a dedicated area which allowed Poké fans to get their hands on playable version of the latest titles as well as indulge in the nostalgia of replaying Pokémon Red and Blue. Sat alongside Pokémon was a massive Monster Hunter area and a selection of 2016’s best RPGs for hardcore gamers to indulge in.

With so much to see in the Nintendo area there was almost no time to take in the Japanese wrestling, J-Pop performances and cosplay pose-offs but there is always time to have your photograph taken with the star of YO-KAI WATCH – Jibanyan!